Black wings for a black heart
by Any-more-cheese
Summary: Thirteen years after Sephiroth and a an old threat returns. Vincent finds an old friend but what happens when their old enemy returns for revenge. VincentOC
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything from Final fantasy 7 or Kingdom Hearts but I do own this slice of cheese. My precious cheese.

**A/N: ** Any-more-cheese is back with a brand new fic! 'Black wings for a black heart' Is about Vincent(Of course, who else could I write about) and an old friend from years ago. (And she belongs to moi!) Must join together to take down an enemy of the past and present.(This is so cheesy, mmmmm...cheese) So anyway on with the fic, please tell me what you think. Oh yeah I've never actually played Final fantasy 7 so I apologise for any wrong descriptions.

**Chapter 1**

It had been thirteen years since the threat of Sephiroth had passed. The members of AVALANCHE had separated and returned home. Tifa and Cloud had gotten married and had two children, their eldest a thirteen year old boy named Sora (A/N: Yes Sora from Kingdom Hearts) and their youngest a nine year old girl which they named Aeris. They returned to their home town of Nibelheim, where Tifa set up a new bar called 'The last wish' (A/N: I made this name, it kinda sucks though). Tifa worked as the bar owner/waitress, while Cloud would help out at times and do other little jobs around town. It was a cold snowy day in Nibelheim and Tifa had closed the bar for the. The door opened to reveal a very cold Cloud.

"It sure is chilly out there this morning" Cloud stated as he stood in the doorway.

"So how was Vincent today?" Tifa asked. Vincent Valentine had returned to the Shinra mansion where he now lived. Tifa and Cloud had helped him redecorate and make the mansion liveable again.

"You can ask him that yourself" Cloud replied as he moved out of the doorway to reveal Vincent wearing his usual clothes.

"Hello Vincent, it's good to see you" Tifa replied. "Please come in". Vincent came in and sat down on one of the bar stools.

"You look well Tifa" Vincent stated.

"So do you" Tifa replied. "Oh Cloud could you go and get Sora and Aeris, tell them that Uncle Vincent is here" (A/N: Yep Uncle Vincent)

"Where are they?" Cloud asked.

"They're out playing in the snow" Tifa answered. Cloud went outside to find his children.

Meanwhile out in the snow, Sora and Aeris were having a snowball fight. Aeris threw a snowball and it hit Sora straight in the face.

"Hey you got me" Sora stated "Good job"

"Thanks big bro" She replied.

"But now it's my turn" Sora said "You had better run!" He threw a huge snowball at Aeris but it missed and hit a man standng with the rest of his gang. "Uh-oh" The man was quite muscular and he swiftly turned around to see whom would dare hit him with snow.

"What do ya think you're doin' ya brats!" He shouted. "No one hits me and gets away with it!"

"Should we get the little brats boss?" One of the gang members asked.

"We'll show ya what it means to mess with da Mako crew!" The boss shouted. (A/N: Sorry about the name but I couldn't think of anything). "Lets get em boys!"

"Aeris run quick!" Sora shouted. Aeris ran to her older brother. The gang were soon surrounding them, getting ready to pulverise them.

"So what do you think we should do to them, boss?" One of the gang members asked.

"I think-"

"I think you should leave these children alone" A cold female voice replied.

"Eh?" They said turning around to see a woman. The woman had long, silky black hair. She wore a black trench coat that looked like leather. She wore metal boots and what looked like metal gauntlets, or were they her hands.(A/N: Basically they look like Vincent's claw but on both hands) Her eyes were a deep shade of purple and her skin as white as the snow surrounding them. "What might a woman do to stop us?" At this she closed her eyes and drew two revolvers from the inside of her trench coat. She fired them both hitting two members in the leg.

"Ow fuck!" They shouted as they held their legs.

"I suggest you leave" She replied.

"Boss this woman's freaky" One said.

"Yeah lets get out of here" The boss said as they all ran away.

"Are you two okay?" She asked as she returned her guns to their holsters.

"Yeah thank you very much" Sora thanked.

"SORA! AERIS!" A male voice shouted. Sora and Aeris looked up to she Cloud running towards them.

"DAD!" Aeris shouted running to him. Cloud knelt down and embraced her.

"I was so worried when I heard that gun shot, are you both okay?" Cloud asked.

"We're fine Dad" Sora replied.

"Yeah thanks to that lady" Aeris added.

"Lady?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah her" Aeris said pointing to the woman. Cloud looked at her.

"Did you help them?" He asked.

"That is correct" She replied.

"Thank you so much" Cloud said.

"Your welcome" She said.

"Im Cloud, that's Sora and that's Aeris" Cloud greeted.

"Raven Blackheart" She replied coldly.

"Please come back have drink or something" Cloud offered. "Please it would mean a lot to me and my wife"

"As you wish" Raven replied. So Cloud, Sora, Aeris and the mysterious Raven Blackheart walked back to the bar. Aeris ran in first, she ran over to Vincent and they hugged.

"Uncle Vincent! You'll never guess what happened?" She said cheerfully.

"What?" He asked.

"Well me and Sora were having a snowball fight and Sora accidentally hit a really big man and he got really angry. His gang were about to hurt us when this lady came and scared em off" She explained. At that point Cloud, Sora and Raven entered the bar. Tifa ran and embraced Sora.

"Im so glad you're all right" She stated. Vincent stared at the woman. He felt like he had met her before.

"Oh yeah it was-" Vincent stood up and interrupted Cloud.

"Raven?" He asked.

**A/N: **Well there you have it. How does Vincent know Raven? I don't know how fast I'll update so be patient. Thanks for reading and please review.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything to do with Final fantasy 7 or Kingdom hearts.

**A/N: **Hi Im back. I thank you Hello-blondie and Tolea for your reviews. I do know that Sora was 14 in Kingdom hearts but in my fic he's 13 and I agree that Cloud and Leon look great in Kingdom hearts (I love them! _Drools over picture_) but Vinnie is still my fav character out of any game! Okay so in this chappie you'll find out how Vin knows Raven. Without further or do here's chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Vincent continued to stare at Raven while she stared back at him. She somehow recognised him but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Vincent how did you know her name?" Cloud asked.

_Vincent? _She thought. _It can't be..._

"Raven it's me Vincent Valentine" Vincent replied.

"Vincent? But how you disappeared forty-three years ago?" Raven stated.

"I didn't really disappear" Vincent replied.

"What do you mean?" Raven asked.

"I mean Hojo" Vincent replied. "By the looks of things he got you too"

"Yeah..."

"Lets get this straight, you both know each other from somewhere and Hojo experimented on both of you" Cloud summed up.

"That is correct" Raven replied.

"I still have one question though, how do you know each other?" Cloud questioned.

"We were Turks together" Vincent replied.

"Well Raven it's nice to meet you, Im Tifa" Tifa said.

"Yeah Mom, she's the one who saved us from that gang of angry men" Aeris said cheerfully.

"Well in that case you can stay the night" Tifa suggested.

"That's really not necessary" Raven said.

"I won't take no for an answer" Tifa remarked.

"I can't Im sorry"

"Then stay with me" Vincent suggested.

"That's a great idea!" Tifa shouted cheerfully.

"I suppose I could".

"It's settled then Raven is staying with Vincent!" Tifa stated. Vincent nodded in response.

"Raven, I'll how you around" Vincent said.

"Okay" She replied. So Vincent and Raven left the bar.

"Man who would've thought Vincent would find an old friend" Cloud remarked.

"She seems nice enough although something seems a little off" Tifa added. Vincent took Raven to the Shinra mansion.

"Something evil took place here" Raven stated.

"More evil than you could imagine" Vincent replied.

"Wait wasn't this the place where you were sent to guard the Jenova project?" Raven asked.

"Indeed"

"No wonder there is so many memories here" She said.

"Raven can I ask you something?"

"Of course"

"Why is it that you did not want to stay with Tifa and Cloud?" Vincent asked.

"I didn't want to put them in danger" Raven replied.

"Why would you put them in danger?"

"When...I sleep...sometimes..I can attack people" Raven replied "I would hate to hurt such a sweet family"

"I see" Vincent said. "Curse Hojo for what he's done to you"

"And to you"

"Me? I deserved this" Vincent replied.

"No, nothing you could've possible done deserves this"

"You don't know the full story"

"I don't need to know the whole story, Vincent. You are the kindest person I've ever met" Raven said. "Lets forget about this conversation"

"That would be wise" Vincent replied. "Do you want anything to eat or drink?"

"No thank you, I don't need to eat or drink" She replied.

"How come?" Vincent asked.

"Jenova gives me everything I need" Raven answered.

"Hojo injected Jenova cells into you?"

"Yes...he did" Raven replied. Vinacent looked at the clock in the room. It was 10.55 pm.

"Are you tired?"

"Actually I am" Raven answered.

"Let me show you to your room" Vincent said as he went upstairs with Raven closely behind. Vincent led her down a long corridor and into a large bedroom. "You can sleep in here, the bathroom is just through there and if you need me I'll be in the room opposite" Raven walked into the room.

"Thank you Vincent" She thanked looking out of the window.

"Good night" He said as he closed the door and went into his room.

"Good night" Raven whispered even though he was no longer in the room. She got into the neatly made bed and fell into a deep slumber.

Elsewhere at the gates to the town a hooded figure stood.

"I've finally found you, Raven" He said. "There's no more running".

A/N: Who the hell is this man I wonder?00 What's he going to do? Read the next chappie to find out but first review this one. I know it was short but I'll try and make the next one longer. So Raven was a turk with Vincent. Preview of next chappie: Raven has a bad nightmare and ends up attacking a certain friend. The hooded man comes into town and enters the bar... See you next chappie .


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I do not own anything from Final fantasy or Kingdom hearts. I don't own the song either.

**A/N: **Hey its Cheese. I know its taken me so long to update but here it is. Chaos comes into this chappie, anything in italics is Chaos talking. I know some people don't like it when people put songs into their fics but I thought it fit perfectly with the scene.

**Chapter 3**

Vincent was led on his bed staring at the ceiling. He was thinking about the events that happened today, and also some events that happened in the past. He thought of when he first met Raven and how much time they spent together. Back then they were the closest of friends, one of the only friends Vincent ever had. They were always sent on missions together and if one was in trouble the other would come and help. Vincent was happy to see Raven again but something seemed very different about her, besides the way she looked. Vincent remembered her eyes that used to be filled with happiness and warmth. Now her eyes were full of well…nothing, they were empty. She seemed more distant than she used to be, like she was on another planet, far, far away. (A/N: All the things Vincent says in this conversation with Chaos, he's saying in his head, if that makes sense?)

"_You can't stop thinking about her can you, Valentine?" _Chaos tormented.

"Go away Chaos" Vincent sighed.

"_Im just getting started"_

"What do you want me to do?"

"_Nothing my sweet Valentine, I just want to have a social chat as it were"_

"You never want a chat, Chaos, so tell me what you're thinking"

"_You get straight to the point don't you Vincent, Well I want you to let me out for a quick stretch"_

"A quick stretch my ass, you just want to go out so you can kill someone"

"_Honestly, I just want to flex my wings a little"_

"It's not going to happen"

"_Fine then Valentine I'll just torment you instead, I find that can be just as fun"_

"Just let me get some sleep, Chaos" Vincent pleaded. A noise that sounded like something smashing was heard. "What was that?" Vincent said sitting up on his bed.

"_How do you expect me to know, Im in your head" _Chaos said sarcastically. _"Why don't you go and have a look" _Vincent got out of bed and walked out side, into the long, dark corridor, holding his death penalty close. Something was heard shuffling around in the room opposite, the room where Raven was.

"There is something in there" Vincent stated.

"_No duh, so are you gonna go in there and frighten the life out of whatever it is?" _Chaos replied.

"I have to see if Raven is alright" Vincent said as he put his hand on the golden door handle and slowly turned it. The door gave a squeak as it opened slightly. Vincent cautiously walked into the dark room, he looked around, there was nothing moving and the only evidence that something had been in there was the shattered vase on the floor. That was when Vincent noticed it, Raven was not in the bed, she was no where to be seen. Vincent grew worried that something had happened to her, even though he knew first hand she could fight perfectly well, even when injured. The floorboards creaked behind him, he spun round only to find nothing. Then Vincent felt it, the presence of another being lurking somewhere around him. He looked up, that was when he saw it, in the mirror hanging on the wall, a creature cloaked in darkness stood behind him. Vincent could only make out the eyes, one purple the other red, they seemed to burn with malice and sorrow at the same time. The creature just stared, it knew it had been spotted but it decided to do nothing but stare. Vincent readied his gun for fire before he spun round, without warning the creature charged at him but Vincent was faster and was able to shoot the creature before it got within a metre of him. The bullet imbedded itself just below the creature ribs or around that area, the creature was thrown back against the wall where it clutched its wound and began to breath heavily from extreme pain. Vincent stared in wonder as the blood red eye changed to match the purple one, moonlight streamed into the room revealing whom the creature was, it was Raven. Vincent gasped in fear at what he had just done, he had wounded his best friend. He crouched down beside Raven. "Raven Im sorry, I didn't know it was you" He said, the worry evident in his voice. Raven looked up at him with a small smile on her face.

"Vincent…its alright…Im ok…really" Raven replied taking deep breaths. "You…were only defending…yourself"

"That did not give me the right to shoot you" Vincent replied. "Let me see your wound"

"No…its okay" Raven said. "It'll be…alright…soon"

"Raven please, I must take the bullet out and bandage it up" Vincent stated. "It will only take a minute"

"Vincent…there really…is no…need" Raven said, her voice becoming a small whisper.

"Raven! Hold on, I'll go and get the necessary equipment" Vincent said rising to his feet and heading to the door. "Just stay awake" He rushed out of the room and down stairs. He found some bandages in the kitchen draw and rushed back upstairs and into Ravens room. He rushed over to her where he knelt by her again. Raven had now removed her claws from the wound that was bleeding. There was a puddle of blood where she was sat. "Raven this may hurt a lot, but I have to do it, okay" She gave a nod in consent, he continued. He put his index finger and thumb into the wound, a small frown of pain appeared on Raven's face, she was obviously clenching her teeth. Vincent felt guilty that he was causing her even more pain but this had to be done. Eventually he had firmly grasped the bullet and pulled it out of her tensed body, she relaxed once the bullet was no longer in the wound even though she was still in a lot of pain. "Im almost finished" He began dressing and cleaning the wound with cotton wool and bandages. "There It's done"

"Thank you Vincent" Raven whispered. "I didn't hurt you did I?"

"No you did not" Vincent replied.

"That's good"

"What was that creature?"

"She's a demon inside me, like Chaos is to you"

"You know about Chaos?"

"Yes I do" Raven replied. "I don't think you a monster, Vincent"

"How could you not?" Vincent asked.

"I know the real you Vincent" Raven answered. "Vincent could we go for a walk, I would like to get some fresh air and talk to you some more"

"I don't think you have the strength to go"

"Im fine Vincent, really" Raven told.

"Then we shall go for a walk" Vincent said as he stood up and helped Raven to her feet. She was a bit wobbly at first but once they had made it down the stairs and out the door she seemed able to walk perfectly. The air was crisp with a chilly breeze now and again. The snow crunched under their hard metal boots as they walked own the frozen streets of Nibelheim. They stopped walking to stare at the sky.

"It's beautiful" Raven said.

"It sure is"

"I haven't really looked at the stars since that night forty five years ago" Raven stated.

"Me either" Vincent agreed.

"I don't really remember much from that night, like what we were doing or what was going on" Raven said sadly.

"It was the Shinra employee party" Vincent reminded. "I never liked parties that much so I sat up on the roof of the Shinra building and you came up and talked to me"

_**-Flashback-**_

Vincent Valentine was sat on the roof of the Shinra building. He was starring at the stars and the moon, Vincent didn't know why but he was always amazed by the stars.

"How can something so simple be so beautiful?" Vincent asked, not expecting an answer as he was alone.

"Because it's pure and untouched" A female voice answered. Vincent spun round to see the newest addition to the Turks, Raven Blackheart. Raven had been Vincent's apprentice for two years, in these years he had taught her how to fight and defend herself. She was around the same age as him and had the same blackness of hair, they often got mistaken for siblings. "Could I join you, sir?"

"Of course" Vincent replied turning his head back round. "Raven, there is no need to still call me, sir"

"But sir, I-" Vincent interrupted her by putting his hand in the air, as a sign for silence.

"Raven we are equal now, you need not use such formalities with your fellow Turks" Vincent informed. "Just call me Vincent from now on, okay"

"Okay" Raven replied nodding her head in the yes direction. She walked over to where Vincent was sat and sat down beside him. Her jet black hair moved freely in the mid night breeze. They both sat in silence as they stared at all the stars in the dark sky, they twinkled different colours of red, blue, green and even purple. Vincent decided to brake the silence.

"Raven could I ask why you would rather be at this party then with your sister?" Vincent asked. Vincent was very curious about the answer to his question, he always knew that any spare time she had she would spend it with her younger sister. Raven's sister meant the world to her and that was why she joined the Turks in the first place, so she could give her sister a home to grow up in instead of the streets of Midgar.

"Well I wanted to be here with you" Raven replied her face blushing a slight pink.

"I don't know why you would want to spend time with a guy like me" Vincent commented.

"Vincent you spent the last two years looking after me, is it wrong of me to enjoy spending time with you?" Raven replied. She turned to face Vincent with a smile. "And besides I wouldn't be able to give you my thank you present" She took out a small box from her bag. She handed it to Vincent, he saw that it was black leather and was embroiered in gold. "Well go on open it" She said cheerfully. Vincent carefully opened the box, laying neatly in it was a gun, it was black with a golden coloured trigger and on the handle part (A/N: Sorry Im not good with guns and I don't know what that bit's called), written in gold was the word 'Quicksilver'. "That is the one you were looking at the other day, right?"

"I can't except this" Vincent said trying to hand her the box but she wouldn't take it.

"Vincent I bought that for you and besides you deserve it for everything you've done for me" Raven replied.

"You didn't have to" Vincent stated.

"I know I didn't but I wanted to" Raven replied. "The thank you isn't over yet"

"What? I couldn't take anything else from you" Vincent asked. Raven stood up and giggled. "What?"

"I knew you were gonna say that. But for this thank you, you have to come down stairs"

"What? Why?" Vincent asked.

"Come on" Raven said as she playfully tugged at his right arm. Vincent stood up and allowed himself to be taken inside, where the party was. There were lots of different coloured lights by a stage, where lots of people were gathered. There were many tables with food and drinks on them, these also had people crowding around them. On the right side of the room was a large table where the upper class people of Shinra sat. This included President Shinra, Professor Gast, Professor Hojo and other people.

"Hey Vincent, man you're actually down in the party" Called a male voice. A brown haired man rushed over to them. He didn't look more than seventeen years old, he had deep brown eyes and wore the Turks blue uniform, well he wore it messily without his tie and his shirt un tucked. "Wow Raven you did it, you're amazing" He said while rubbing the back of his neck, a great cheesy smile creeping over his face.

"Thanks Leon" Raven thanked. Leon was a Turk, a rather hyper one at that. He was the youngest person to ever join the Turks, he had brilliant skill with his fists, it was no wonder he was excepted so early. "Vincent stay here okay" Raven walked off and in the direction of the stage.

"What is she doing?" Vincent asked.

"Oh yeah you don't know, well you'll see in a moment" Leon replied. They looked at the stage and saw that Raven was stood on it.

"Excuse me!" She shouted into the microphone. The whole of the room went silent and looked at Raven. "Thank you, well as most of you are aware Im the new Turk. It takes a lot of work to become a Turk but twice as much work for your tutor, I wouldn't be here without the help of my tutor, Vincent Valentine. He has stuck with me for two years, through thick and thin. He truly is a dedicated man and my role model for being a Turk, I look forward to working with him more in the future. So I would like to dedicate a song to Mr. Valentine" A round of applause was started as she finished her speech but stopped when music started to play. She sang:

When I think of what I've been through  
I can see that you've always been there for me  
To tell the truth I don't know what I'd do  
without you, None of my dreams would have come true.  
You are the one that I have called for.  
Now my life means so much more  
Now we can be together forever  
Forever just you and me  
Me here for you, you here for me.

Chorus:  
It was you who showed me I got a friend in you  
I always knew that you'd be right here for me  
And It was you who stuck with me when the skies where blue  
And it was you who stayed by my side, it was you!

Since the day you came into my life  
I knew then that you'd be someone right by my side  
Then you proved you're a friend to me  
In my heart, forever you will always be

You are the one that I had hoped for  
Now my life means so much more  
Now we can be together forever  
Just you and me  
there for each other

Chorus (x2)

It was you who was always by my side  
And I just can't do it, you helped me through it  
We're friends forever like best friends should be  
You'll always be a special part of me!

It was you!

Chorus (x2)

It was you who showed me I got a friend  
I always knew that you'd be right there  
It was you who stuck with me when skies where blue!  
It was you! I knew that I could count on you!

Chorus

You are a friend to me, It was you

The music stopped and everyone applauded again. "Thank you" Raven jumped off of the stage and back over to Vincent and Leon, who were stood with a girl in the Turk uniform. The woman had blond hair in plat and sea blue eyes. All three smiled as Raven came over.

"Yeah! You rock, Raven!" Leon shouted.

"You think?" Raven asked.

"Yeah you were great" The female Turk said.

"Thanks Mirage" Raven replied. Mirage was another one of the Turks, she wasn't just a normal Turk though, she was the leader. Mirage was the oldest and most mature of the group. They all looked at Vincent, he was the only one who hadn't said anything. "Did you like it?"

"It was beautiful" Vincent replied. The four Turks burst out laughing, even Vincent which was a big surprise to everyone.

_**-End flashback-**_

"Yeah that was a great night" Raven sighed.

"It sure was" Vincent agreed. "I never really enjoyed a party until then"

"Im glad you enjoyed it" Raven said cheerfully.

"How could I not?" Vincent asked. Raven giggled at his question. She suddenly had a look of shock on her face, she spun around, like there was something behind her. Vincent looked around but there was only a tree and he couldn't sense anyone either. "Raven what's wrong?" Raven didn't reply. "Raven, there isn't anything out there" Raven blinked a few times and looked at Vincent.

"Vincent there is something that I must tell you" She said.

"What is it?" Vincent asked.

"It was about a week ago that I escaped" Raven started.

"Escaped from where?" Vincent asked.

"Hojo's lab, Vincent" Raven replied. "Now I fear that he's here"

"But he can't be here, I killed him many years ago" Vincent stated.

"You killed one of him, he has many clones of himself" Raven explained. "They're all in a hidden laboratory, I would destroy them all if only I could find them"

"What makes you think he's here?" Vincent asked.

"My body, it's shaking all over, the same happened every time he would come and get me for an experiment" Raven explained. "Vincent, I don't want to go back"

"Don't worry, I won't let him take you back" Vincent said. "You're safe as long as Im here"

"But Vincent, what about your friends safety?" Raven asked.

"What?"

"He's heading for the bar"

"No" Vincent said. "We have to get them out of there" With that Vincent and Raven ran off in the direction of the bar.

Meanwhile at 'The last wish' Tifa was serving the last customer of the day, while Cloud put Sora and Aeris to bed.

"So what will it be?" Tifa asked the brown haired young man, who was sat at the bar. The man had long brown hair tied back, green eyes and he wore all black clothing and I mean all in black the only thing that wasn't black were the silver studs on his knuckles. (A/N: Sorry if I didn't describe him very well) Tifa noticed that he was staring at the group picture of AVALANCHE on the wall behind her. Tifa remembered when they had taken that picture, their last day as the rebel group, AVALANCHE. After that picture was taken everyone went their separate ways, Tifa missed everyone although some of them would come and visit now and a again. "What do you want?" She repeated. This time he was brought out of his trance like state, he looked at Tifa.

"Oh sorry, I'll have a beer" He replied. His voice was deep and soft but held a sense of child like innocence.

"Coming right up" Tifa said with a wide smile, she took a bottle of beer out from under the bar and opened it. "Here you go" She said handing him the bottle.

"Thanks" He said as he sipped at his drink. Footsteps were herd coming down the stairs, Cloud came through the doorway.

"Tifa, do you know where Aeris' Mog is?" Cloud asked.

"Oh yeah, it's in the cupboard" Tifa replied as she started drying some glasses. Cloud smacked himself in the face.

"Now why didn't I look there?" Cloud asked as he went back upstairs.

"I can never understand what goes on in his head" Tifa commented.

"You're names Tifa, right?" The man asked.

"Yep that's me" She replied. "And who might you be?"

"My names Eric Constantine" Eric answered.

"Well it's nice to meet you Eric" Tifa said cheerfully.

"You too" Eric agreed. "Um Tifa, do you know someone called, Vincent Valentine?" Eric's question caused Tifa to stop what she was doing with glasses and look at him. _Vincent? Why does he want to know about Vincent? _She thought.

"Why?" She asked.

"I was just looking for him that's all" He replied. "I've read a lot about him and I would like to talk to him"

"Yeah, I do know him" Tifa stated as she grabbed the photo on the wall. "That's him there" She pointed to Vincent in the picture.

"So that's what he looks like" Eric muttered. "Do you know where he lives?"

_Oh do I tell him or not? Well Im sure Vincent can take care of himself but still….should I tell him?_ _What the hell am I going to do? _Tifa thought. Then as if on cue, someone started screaming upstairs. "Aeris!" Tifa shouted as she ran into the back and up the stairs, Eric followed closely behind. They burst into Aeris' and Sora's room, in the center was a hooded figure, Cloud was stood staring it down, while Sora hugged his crying sister in the corner. "Cloud, who is this?"

"I don't know but he can get out of here right now!" Cloud replied. The figure started laughing like a mad man. Tifa ran over to her children to keep them safe, Eric stood in the doorway.

"Hahahahahahahahahahaha! You don't change do you Strife" It said. The voice was deep and menacing, somehow Tifa and Cloud recognised it.

"Who are you?" Cloud asked. Eric moved over to Tifa and stood in between her and Cloud.

"Don't you recognise me, Strife?" The creature asked. "But then it has been, what thirteen years"

"You better tell me who you are right now!" Cloud shouted. At this the figure put it's hood down, the hooded creature was none other than……Hojo. Cloud and Tifa both had a shocked look on their faces. "HOJO? How the fuck are you alive?"

"You're not happy to see me, Strife?" Hojo asked.

"Hojo, get out now!" Cloud shouted. "Or do I have to force you out!"

"Tell me Strife, where is your new friend?" Hojo asked. "Is she with Valentine?"

"No, Im right here" A female voice replied. Everyone looked to where the voice came from, Vincent and Raven were stood in the doorway.

"Ah, Raven, I see you have come out of hiding" Hojo said. "And you've brought Vincent with you"

"So Vincent does live here" Eric said. Everyone looked at the once silent Eric.

"Hey, who are you?" Cloud asked finally noticing the man.

"Im Eric" Eric replied.

"Hojo, leave please, I don't want you to hurt them" Raven pleaded.

"If I chose to hurt them it will be because of you, my dear" Hojo replied. "But if you come along, like a good little specimen, then I'll leave them breathing"

"Forget it Hojo, She's not going anywhere" Vincent stated sternly as he walked in front of Raven. "Cloud, Tifa get out of here"

"Vincent, we're not leaving you with him" Tifa said.

"Yeah, we stick together" Cloud added.

"No get out of here now" He repeated. He upholstered his gun, ready to fight, he put his finger on the trigger.

"Vincent no, don't attack him" Raven told. She rushed out in between Hojo and Vincent, she put her arms out.

"Raven move" Vincent said.

"No"

"ha ha ha ha. How does it feel Valentine, to have your closest friend protect your enemy?" Hojo laughed. "Come Raven" Raven and Vincent shared glances, Raven's eyes were full of sadness. Raven slowly turned and started walking towards Hojo. However no one noticed Eric, he was charging to cast a spell.

"Fire3!" He shouted as he casts the spell, Hojo was engulfed in flames, he let out a couple of screams but then the fire went out. Hojo had disappeared, there was nothing there except a white powder on the floor.

"He'll be back" Raven stated. "He has many other copies"

"Woa, that was cool" Cloud complimented.

"Thanks" Eric said.

"Thank you, Eric" Raven thanked. "But now he will be after you too"

"Nothing I can't handle" Eric said confidently.

"Eric do you have a place to stay?" Tifa asked.

"No I don't"

"Then you can stay here" Tifa replied.

"Thanks"

A/N: Well there it is, sorry it took so long but I was thinking a lot about this chappie. Thank you all my reviewers, it really made me feel good to know someone cares. If you would like to appear in this, then read the details on my profile page. Please and thank you.

**Disclaimer continued: **Eric belongs to VincentValentine13.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything from final fantasy or Kingdom hearts. Eric belongs to VincentValentine13.

**A/N: **Right okay, well Im not to sure where this chapter will go but it's here anyway. So we had a new character last chapter, Eric, I wonder what will happen now that he's in the picture….who knows. Oh yeah this chapter is in Eric's point of view.

**Chapter 4 Eric's point of view**

I slowly came into consciousness. I could feel something prodding my arm, I tried to open my eyes but they wouldn't listen. I could tell that it was mourning because I could feel the warm streams of sunlight that came in through the window. I tried once more to open my eyes, this time I was successful, when I looked upon the room all I could see was a blurry haze of white, brown and pink. I could see what looked like a head, a very small head in fact. I tried blinking my eyes to clear my vision a little more, it worked slightly. My eyes revealed to me what in fact was a head, a head of a small girl. She looked at me with her unusually green coloured eyes and smiled. Her brown hair was pulled into a ponytail with a pink ribbon.

"Yay! You're awake!" She shouted cheerfully. I looked at her in confusion, did I know this girl? Was she really there or an illusion? What size shoes she wears? Wait, why did I say that? I'm really beginning to lose my mind. "Mama!" A woman instantly rushed into the room.

"What? What is it?" She asked looking around for any sign of danger. I noticed that this woman was actually quite attractive but she didn't really look my type and besides I saw that she wore a wedding ring. She had long brown coloured hair that matched her wine coloured eyes. She looked at me and smiled just like the little girl. "Eric, you're awake" Now I remember, she's the bar maid Tifa. As I thought about Tifa, events of the past night rushed through my head, I never realised my head was a race track. (A/N: VincentValentine13 I apologise if Eric seems to be saying weird things but I can't help it sometimes, sorry)

"Hey Tifa" I greeted.

"So did you have a good sleep?" Tifa asked.

"Yeah, the best I've had in a while actually" I replied as I sat up and stretched.

"That's good to hear" She remarked, again that smile returned to her lips. "Oh yeah, you said that you were looking for Vincent last night" Oh yeah, I forgot about that.

"Oh yeah, was that him who came here last night?" I asked.

"Yep, that was the one and only Vincent Valentine, if you want to see him then you can come with us as we are going to visit him this mourning" She replied.

"Yay! We're going to see Uncle Vinnie!" The little girl shouted as she started running around like a headless chicken. Then just on cue my stomach grumbled to state that it was running low in fuel. My God, I sound like a car.

"You sure he wouldn't mind if I tagged along" I said, trying ignore the grumbling in my stomach.

"Vincent wouldn't mind, he is a very welcoming gentleman even though he doesn't look like it. But I think you should eat something first" Tifa replied. "And you little Miss Aeris, I suggest you go and get wrapped up so you don't get cold"

"Yeah okay!" Aeris ran out of the room excitedly. Tifa laughed softly at her small child.

"So are we gonna get you some food or not?" She asked me, my stomach of course did the answering for me. I just laughed as I followed Tifa out of the room and down the stairs. We walked into a kitchen in the back of the bar. The walls were a creamy milky colour, while the tiles on the floor were black and white. A light that looked like a small chandelier hung from the middle of the ceiling. Dotted around the room were many pictures of them and their friends, including Mr. Vincent Valentine. I looked at the large wooden table in the middle of the room, where a blond man and a teenaged boy sat eating their breakfast. They both looked up at me and smiled, what is it with these people, they are always smiling.

"Hey" I greeted waving at them.

"Come get some breakfast, you must be hungry" The blond welcomed pointing to a spare chair. "Look I must be having one of those moments, what are they called again?"

"Blond moments, Cloud" Tifa answered as she went over to a cupboard and got out some boxes of cereal.

"Yeah that's it, anyway I just can't seem to remember your name" Cloud finished.

"Im Eric"

"I told you it was that!" Cloud shouted.

"No you didn't you said Erika" The teen corrected.

"Oh yeah, I forgot" Cloud went back to eating his breakfast. I sat down next to the blond, who to my mind has too many blond moments. So a few minutes later my stomach stopped grumbling after it had received what it wanted. We all got ready and we walked up to the Shinra mansion.

**A/N: Yeah I know it was short and a load of rubbish. But I've had a bad case of writers block and I couldn't think of what to write so hopefully the next chapter will be better. Anyway I want some more characters so please send in a character for me, all the details are on my profile page. I would be more than happy to put them in. Im going to say sorry again to VincentValentine13 because of the way I have written Eric, sorry. So please review and read the next chapter, when I've written it of course.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Okay lets get one thing straight I do not own Eric (He belongs to VincentValentine13), anything to do with final fantasy or Kingdom hearts. **

**A/N: Right here we go. I hope this chapter is a lot better if not longer than the last chapter. I was going to re-write it but I really don't have the time and I just want to get on with the story. Thank you all those who reviewed, you were all so kind considering how rubbish that last chapter was. Look at me babbling on, you don't want to listen to me, you want to read more of the story. So without further or do here it is.**

**Chapter 5**

Cloud, Tifa, Sora, Aeris and Eric, walked up the long winding path to the Shinra mansion. (A/N: Sorry I don't know what it looks like so im imagining it) Aeris was running around excitedly, leaving footprints in the crisp snow that covered the streets. She always got so excited when they went to go and see Vincent. There was just something about him that made her happy, no one knew what though. Sora was excited too, but he was able to control himself more than his little sister, Vincent seemed to light a tiny spark in them that instantly set their excitement on fire. Cloud and Tifa loved visiting their old friends from their past journeys, having Vincent live so close by made it easier to keep in contact with him. There were three reasons why they were visiting him, 1) to discuss what had happened last night. 2) Discuss what they should do about it and 3) Eric whished to speak to the Ex-Turk. They slowly walked through the gates that led to the mansion, the hinges squeaked as they pushed them open.

"I thought we oiled them the other week" Cloud stated as he held the gates open for everyone to get through.

"It's probably the cold weather that's done it" Eric told. Tifa and Cloud nodded in agreement. "So this is where he lives, huh?" Eric looked in awe at the large building that stood in front of him. The building looked very aged; it appeared to have been there for many years. They all walked to the front door and Cloud rang the doorbell.

_Ding dong_

They waited for a couple of minutes but no one came. They heard nothing from inside the mansion, no movement, no sound. It was as if the building was dead and not even ghosts wandered the corridors. Cloud rang the doorbell once again.

_Ding dong_

Still they received no reply. Thoughts of worry rushed through their minds.

"I'll go and see if he's around the back" Cloud said as he began to walk in the direction of a black gate that led around the back of the mansion. Tifa, Eric, Sora and Aeris waited by the front door.

Cloud was out the back, there wasn't much in the back garden apart from a washing line, a great big tree of some kind and Vincent's chocobo stable. Cloud looked around and didn't see him outside so he decided to look in the stable. Cloud walked in, the floor was covered in a yellow-ish straw. He looked at the back part of the stable; sure enough Vincent was there with his black chocobo. Cloud rushed over, his footsteps making a noise on the hay. Vincent looked up at Cloud.

"Vincent, what are doing out here?" He asked.

"I was grooming Black Velvet" Vincent replied. (A/N: Black Velvet is his chocobo and it belongs to me!)

"Yeah well, we've been waiting outside for a while now and we're getting cold" Cloud stated. Vincent started to walk over to Cloud.

"Oh my apologies" Vincent replied with a bow. "It is best if I let you in then, isn't it"

"Yeah it would" Cloud agreed. Vincent and Cloud left the stables and walked back to the front of the mansion. Without knowing Vincent was tackled by little Aeris, they both fell onto the floor.

"Good mourning Aeris" Vincent greeted cheerfully.

"Mourning Uncle Vinnie!" She replied. Aeris got off of Vincent and allowed him to get up. Vincent looked at everyone and gave a nod.

"Let us go inside" Vincent suggested, as he walked over to his front door and opened it. He held it open for everyone to enter before he entered himself. They all walked into the large building, the walls were a pale creamy colour and the floor was stripped of carpets down to its wooden floorboards. The first room on the other side of the door was a long corridor; it led off into several other rooms. Vincent led them into the room that was second on the left, this room appeared to be the living room. There were two sofas in the middle of the room both of them a dark shade of red. The room was pretty much empty, apart from the sofas and the small table in the middle of the room. They all came in and sat down on the sofas.

"So, where's Raven this mourning?" Tifa asked.

"She's still asleep" Vincent replied.

"Wow that's one lazy girl" Cloud remarked. Tifa playfully slapped Cloud on the head.

"Cloud!" She said sternly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean that" Cloud apologised.

"That's fine Cloud, can I get you anything?" Vincent asked.

"No thank you, Im fine" Tifa replied with a smile.

"Don't worry about me Vincent, Im good" Cloud replied, slouching in his seat more.

"No thanks, Im still full from breakfast" Sora replied.

"No thank you, Uncle Vinnie" Aeris replied.

"Im good so no thank you" Eric replied.

"Okay, so what have you all come here for?" Vincent asked.

"Well it's about last night" Cloud started. "Sora take your sister somewhere and play"

"Okay, come on Aeris lets go do something fun" Sora replied taking his little sister upstairs.

"Anyway, was that really Hojo last night?" Cloud continued.

"Although it is hard to believe that he could be alive, I do believe what Raven said is true" Vincent replied.

"Why do you think that it's true?" Tifa asked.

"Well there are many reasons but I know that Raven would never lie to me" Vincent answered. "And I could feel the same menacing aura that I could feel from the Hojo we killed all those years ago"

"Vincent does have a point" Tifa said.

"So that means that there are more Hojos out there?" Cloud stated.

"It would seem so" Vincent replied sadly.

"…..damn….." Cloud muttered.

Meanwhile upstairs Sora and Aeris were playing hide and seek, it was Aeris turn to hide. She wondered down the long corridor, she wasn't sure what room to hide in. She came to a closed one. _He'll never know if I go in here _She thought as she opened the door. She closed the oak door behind her as she entered. She looked around the room; there wasn't much but a wardrobe a desk and a four poster bed. She looked closely at the bed and noticed a figure asleep on it. She walked closer and made out that the figure was Raven, she noticed that she wasn't moving not even breathing. Aeris wanted to see if she was alright, so she climbed onto the bed and sat next to her. She still didn't move so Aeris decided to poke her arm, yet she didn't move in response. _Oh my God is she dead! _Aeris thought. She got off the bed and ran out of the room, she found Sora on the landing still counting.

"Sora! Sora!" She called tugging his shirt. He opened his eyes and looked at her with a confused expression.

"Aeris what are you doing here?" Sora asked. "You're supposed to be hiding"

"I was, but I think Raven's dead" Aeris replied.

"What? What do you mean dead?" Sora asked.

"She wasn't breathing" Aeris answered.

"Oh God….Are you sure?" Sora questioned worriedly.

"Yeah" Aeris replied.

"Right stay here, I'll go get Vincent" Sora told as he made his way downstairs. He rushed into the living room where everyone looked at him.

"What's wrong?" Vincent asked.

"Uncle Vincent….it's Raven" Sora replied as he huffed and puffed.

"What? What about her?" Vincent asked the worry for his friend becoming greater by the second.

"We think she's dead" Sora continued. "Aeris said she wasn't breathing"

"Oh no…." Vincent rushed upstairs with everyone following. He ran down the corridor and into Raven's room. He went to her side where he soon found out that the child was telling the truth, Raven wasn't breathing. He touched her face with his human hand and found that her skin was ice cold. "Raven….what has happened to you?"

"She's not dead" A stern voice replied. Vincent spun around to see Eric closing the door. "She's just in a trance like state" Eric walked over to Vincent's side, where he looked at Raven.

"Eric, how do you know this?" Vincent asked.

"There is something about her that gives off all these vibes, like an aura of darkness" Eric replied. "Vincent I have to ask, do you know what Hojo did to her?"

"I don't know everything but I do know that he put a demon inside her body, a creature of pure darkness that no light can stop" Vincent explained.

"Ah that must be the presence I've been feeling, do you know what kind of demon it is?" Eric asked.

"Why does that matter?" Vincent questioned.

"Well depending on what kind of creature it is, we may be able to break the trance" Eric explained.

"Im not sure" Vincent replied sadly. "I only saw its crimson eyes"

"There may still be a way" Eric stated. He leaned in closer and opened her mouth slightly; two pointed fangs placed themselves in between her teeth. "The creature is a vampire"

"How do you break the trance?" Vincent asked.

"Well…….She has to feed from another whom has a strong darkness about them" Eric replied, indicating to Vincent. "However, the one whom she feeds from will receive a great deal of pain"

"I don't care if it means she'll be okay then I can take the pain" Vincent stated. Vincent moved the part of his clothes that were covering his neck, and then he sat Raven up and leaned her head next to his neck. Her eyes shot open, they were not purple but crimson coloured. She opened her mouth and broke into the skin with her sharp pointed fangs. Vincent's body tensed from the pain, the longer she drained him the stronger the pain got. It got so bad that he had to force Raven to part from him, the two small wounds continued to bleed. Raven blinked a few times before her eyes returned to normal. She slowly looked up at Vincent; she noticed the blood and immediately looked worried.

"Vincent, you're bleeding! Did I…..do that?" She asked. Her voice was very shaky with concern. "Vincent Im so sorry, I didn't mean to"

"Raven its okay, Im fine" Vincent replied showing her a very rare but very genuine smile. "Im just glad that you're okay"

"Vincent you didn't have to do that for me" Raven stated. "I could've killed you"

"All that matters now is that you're okay" Vincent replied. Vincent then turned to Eric. "Eric could you take Raven downstairs with the others, please"

"Sure, come on Raven lets go" Eric replied helping Raven off of the bed and out of the room. Vincent goes into a bathroom where he cleans up his wound then wraps it with a bandage. A few minutes later Vincent emerged in the living room, everyone was sat on the sofas including Raven. Cloud was talking to someone on his mobile (A/N: I don't know what their phones are called in the game), he was nodding his head in the yes motion as if someone was explaining something that he understood.

"Ok, we'll be there right away" He finished as he hung up. Everyone in the room looked at him with the same question in their eyes, though none of them spoke up.

"Cloud, what's going on?" Tifa asked deciding to break the silence.

"It was Rachel (A/N: Rachel is just someone I made up to work in the bar), she said that this blue haired girl came in asking for us" Cloud replied.

"Why does she want us?" Tifa asked.

"I don't really know but Rachel said that she seemed in a hurry" Cloud replied. "She also said that she told her we were at the Shinra mansion"

"That probably means she'll come here" Eric stated.

"Yeah, you're probably right" Tifa agreed. Just then someone knocked at the door. "She's here"

"Man, that was quick" Cloud remarked.

"I'll go get it" Vincent stated as he walked off to the front door. He opened the large oak door; there stood on the other side was a blue haired blue eyed girl. She wore a black leather skirt, a black strapless top, leather black knee-high boots and black fingerless gloves. On her hips were two small pistols. She looked at Vincent and became a little scared by his appearance. "Yes?"

"Um….is Cloud Strife here?" She asked as she rubbed her arms to try and warm them.

"Yes he is what is your business with him?" Vincent questioned.

"Please sir, it's an emergency" She pleaded. "My friend is being attacked by this monster and I can't stop it by myself"

"Very well" Vincent said as he moved away from the door allowing the girl to come in. "He's in there" Vincent pointed to the living room.

"Thanks" She said as she ran off in that direction. She ran into the living room, everyone stared at her. "Are you Cloud?" She asked referring to the slouched blond. Everything she said was hurried, it seemed she was panicking.

"Yep that's me, what's up?" Cloud asked sitting up slightly in his seat.

"Please you must come quickly!" She said. "You must help my friend!"

"Why? What happened?" Cloud asked, he was now starting to take this seriously as he stood up.

"We were on Mt. Nibel when this monster attacked us. We got separated, so I ran to get help" She explained quickly. "Please you must help her"

"Ok, we'll help, right guys?" Cloud replied.

"You can count me in!" Tifa replied as she rose to her feet.

"Me too" Eric answered also rising to his feet.

"I don't know what use I'll be but, I'll come to!" Raven replied, joining everyone else.

"I suppose I will come to" Vincent replied. "But the children should stay here, it could be dangerous"

"Yeah, you're right" Tifa agreed. She turned to Sora and Aeris. "Sora could you look after your sister until we get back?"

"Of course!" Sora replied.

"Okay then, let's go people!" Cloud shouted. Cloud started to run for the door.

"Wait, you didn't even ask her what her name was" Tifa stated, this caused Cloud to skid and nearly fall flat on his face.

"Sorry, what is your name young lady?" Cloud asked.

"My name is Chrystall but I don't think we have time for this at the moment" Chrystall replied as she ran past Cloud and out the door. Everyone followed apart from the children who stayed in the mansion.

"Tifa, we need to go get our weapons!" Cloud told.

"Oh yeah, guys we'll see ya up there!" Tifa replied as her and Cloud ran back to the bar to retrieve their weapons, Vincent, Raven, Eric and Chrystall continued their journey out of the village and up part of the mountain. They got as far as a crossroads on the mountain, not long after Cloud and Tifa rejoined them with their weapons.

"Which way?" Tifa asked.

"I don't know" Chrystall replied.

"We're gonna have to split up, so Vincent, Raven and Chrystall go to the left while we'll go down the right. If anything should happen ring my mobile, ok Vincent" Cloud decided, Vincent gave a nod in reply. So the group split up, Vincent, Raven and Chrystall going left and Cloud, Tifa and Eric going right. They rushed down the side they were designated but Cloud group soon got to a dead end. Cloud rang Vincent's phone.

"_Yes?" _Vincent answered.

"Vincent, we came to a dead end so we're going to go back and join you but I want you to keep going, we'll catch up" Cloud explained.

"_Understood" _Vincent replied and he hung up the phone.

"Well guy's we got to go back and join Vincent's group, so let's go!" Cloud told and the three of them made their way back.

Vincent, Raven and Chrystall were running down a thin valley like path way. Jagged rocks stuck out from the walls on each side. They continued through the path until they heard a low growling noise followed by a girly scream. It caused the trio to stop dead in their tracks.

"What was that?" Vincent asked.

"It's my friend she's in trouble, we have to help her!" Chrystall shouted as she continued to run. Vincent and Raven looked at each other, Raven nodded slightly before she ran after the blue haired girl. Vincent soon followed. They ran until they came to a large circle area, it was a dead end. There at the side opposite from them was a large dragon like creature, cornered by it was a blond haired girl. The creature was had a huge black scaled body with a long spiky tail to accompany it sharp claws and fangs. Chrystall ran closer to the great beast but not to close, she was still close enough to Vincent and Raven. "Emerald! Where's your weapon!" She shouted hoping to draw her friends attention, thankfully she did.

"I don't know! I dropped it!" The blond replied keeping her eyes on the creature in front of her. Chrystall then noticed that her friend's right leg was bleeding.

"Em, you're bleeding! Can you still walk alright!" Chrystall asked.

"I think I can but not for long!" The girl replied. Suddenly the dragon creature slashed at the girl with its huge claws, luckily she jumped out of the way but when she landed she collapsed.

"Emerald!" Chrystall yelled worriedly. She did not like the way this was going at all, her life long friend was being attacked right in front of her.

"Vincent" Raven said looking over at Vincent, he turned his head to look at her, and he understood immediately and replied with a nod in the yes direction. With that they both flew into action. (A/N: Not literally fly but they rushed into the action) They both un-holstered their guns and fired at the beast, the dragon's interest was now bought to the two new opponents. Chrystall decided that while they were able to hold its attention she would go and she her fallen friend, she rushed over and crouched by her side.

"Emerald are you okay?" She asked. Her question made Emerald laugh slightly. (A/N: That's the name of this character if you didn't already figure it out)

"As good as I can be right now" Emerald replied a small smile appearing on her lips. This caused Chrystall to smile back, this is what she always loved about her whenever the situation got tough Emerald would always cheer her up some how. Loud shots of gunfire brought Chrystall out of her thoughts. She looked at the two fighting the creature, though they were obviously very skilled they still weren't enough to slay this menace. "I want to help to" Emerald said as she forced herself to stand.

"Hey, is that your bow over there?" Chrystall asked pointing at a ledge sticking out of the wall.

"Yeah it is but I don't think I could get up there" Emerald replied sadly.

"Don't worry I'll get it for ya!" Chrystall stated as she made a dash for it. She made it to the wall and now she was faced with climbing a little. Climbing was never her strong point but none the less she managed to get to that ledge. She grabbed the wooden long bow and the quiver which was full of arrows, then she jumped off the ledge. She started running back to Emerald but soon realized that the battle was getting more and more fierce. She wouldn't be able to get over there safely.

"Emerald catch!" She shouted throwing the equipment over to her friend. Emerald saw the flying weapon and jumped in the air where she caught it. As soon as she landed she started firing arrows. Chrystall saw that she had caught it and immediately joined the fight by firing bullets from her pistols. The creature started to get very annoyed by all the bombardment from different angles. It was about to strike its original opponent when a voice echoed through the valley.

"You started the party without us!" Cloud shouted. Cloud, Tifa and Eric appeared at the entrance of the battlefield. "I feel so sad but hey you saved us some of the fun at least!" With that the three charged into battle.

"Ice3!" Eric shouted the creature was surrounded in ice. Cloud and Tifa inflicted many slashes and punches to the creature. The seven continued their attacks until the dragon let out a mighty roar then disappeared into thin air.

"Yeah! We sure showed that thing!" Cloud shouted doing a victory dance.

"Emerald are you alright?" Chrystall asked once again at her side. Emerald had collapsed onto the floor as the pain in her leg was growing violent. Everyone noticed and crowded round with worried faces.

"Did that thing hurt you?" Eric asked as he crouched by her side starting to examine the wound.

"Yeah" Emerald replied.

"But that thing is poi-"

"Poisonous? Yeah I know" Emerald interrupted.

"Hang on I can heal you with materia" Eric said as he started to charge for a spell. "Cure3" He said as the wound started to heal from a bright green light. Soon there was only a mark of proof that it had once been there. "Is that better?"

"Yeah, thank you" She thanked as she managed to stand up. Chrystall and Eric stood up too. They then got to see what Emerald truly looked like, she was pretty tall for the age she looked. Her straight blond hair was nearly touching the floor it was so great in length. The clothes she was wearing were very similar to Chrystall's, a green mini skirt, dark green holterneck top, knee-high brown boots and brown fingerless gloves. The whole attire complemented her stunning green eyes. There was something Eric found strange well they all found it strange but Eric was for a different reason, her ears were long and pointed. (A/N: Kinda like Link's from the legend of Zelda)

_Could she be-no she couldn't they don't exist anymore _Eric thought. Without warning Chrystall gave Emerald a huge bear hug, it just caused Emerald to laugh. _What a sweet innocent laugh….I shouldn't be thinking things like that! Stupid brain! _Eric thought.

"Im so glad you're okay Emerald" Chrystall stated. "I thought that we would be too late"

"Hey, Chris (A/N: That's Chrystalls nickname like Em is Emeralds nickname) Im fine there's no need to say things like that" Emerald told. They both shared a smile with each other before Chrystall finally let go of Emerald, Emerald looked up at the five who had just helped save her life. "I thank all of you so much for the brave act you just did, I truly am grateful" She said giving them a friendly smile.

_It's not as good as her smile though but then their both wonderful……Im doing it again I have got to control myself! _Eric thought as he mentally hit himself for letting him think something like that.

"Hey we were happy to help" Cloud replied rubbing the back of his neck.

"But I could never repay you for this, you all saved my life but if there is anything that you need or want then I would be more than happy to help" Emerald stated.

_I can think of a way to repay me, let's go out on a date, just you and be and a nice bottle of wine. Right that is it I am fed up, why do I keep thinking like this? _Eric thought. Eric looked up and saw that Emerald was looking straight at him, she then started giggling.

"I don't believe I have introduced myself, my name is Emerald Greensky and if you need anything don't be afraid to ask" She introduced.

"Hi, Im Cloud Strife" Cloud replied.

"And Im Tifa" Tifa added.

"Vincent Valentine" Vincent replied coldly.

"My name is Raven Blackheart" Raven said.

"Hi, my name is Eric" Eric replied slightly blushing because her eyes were once again on him.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all" Emerald stated doing a bow.

**A/N: Well there you go hope it was better than the last one, sorry if any of the characters are out of character. I know the bit with Raven is kinda weird. Sorry it took a while for this update but I still had a bit of writers block. VincentValentine13 I hope Eric was written okay and you probably figured out who he's going to be paired with but we shall have to see how their feelings blossom. Anyway the fight scene was not very good at all, I know im not good at writing those. The next update will probably be after Christmas now but I wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and New year! So could you all review and I might write the next chapter quicker! See you next chapter! Oh yeah I thank all of my reviewers, hang on did I already say that? Oh well you people are so wonderful you deserve more than one thank you, so thank you for reviewing!**

**Cheese out………….**

**Disclaimer continued: Okay, Emerald belongs to me just like Raven does but Chrystall belongs to my best friend, Hello-blondie.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Eric or any of the other characters; I only own Raven and Emerald. I do not own Chrystall either.**

**A/N: Yeah I know I haven't updated for ages but for one thing I've been quite busy and another thing I've had a major case of writers block. So this chapter will hopefully be ok, I hope. Anyway here it is, so please enjoy.**

**Chapter 6**

The sun was just beginning to set in Nibelheim; the sky was a great mix of reds, yellows, oranges and pinks. Snow still covered the ground out in the streets, full of tiny footprints created by children while they were building snowmen. These children were called by their parents to come back inside as it was getting late. Warm yellow lights were coming from the buildings, as families got ready for bed. Cloud, Vincent and the rest of the gang had returned from their little adventure in the Nibel Mountains. Cloud and Tifa went to pick Sora and Aeris up from the mansion they left soon after. Of course they had to introduce themselves first, Aeris refused to leave before. Eric decided to stay a little while at the mansion and return to the bar later.

"We can't thank you enough for letting us stay here, Vincent" Emerald said politely, bowing once more to show how thankful she was.

"There is no need to keep saying thank you, I told you its fine for you too stay here" Vincent stated.

"Emerald is always like that. Heck you give her a sock and she wont stop saying how thankful she is, so get used to it pal" Chrystall remarked as she walked over to the sofa and slouched on it.

"I do not do that!" Emerald shouted going red in the face. "And you are being very rude Chrystall!"

"He said make yourselves at home didn't he?" Chrystall replied.

"Well yeah he did but still show a little self control Chris" Emerald stated. Eric was losing a hard battle to hold back the bounds of laughter that had built up inside of him, he didn't know why the two girls seemed so funny to him, and maybe it was because they fought like sisters over make up. Eric looked over at Chrystall to find that she had a huge frown across her face, this made him want to laugh even more but he managed to hold it in.

"Hey Vincent, where's your T.V.?" She asked.

"I do not own one" Vincent replied coldly as he walked into the kitchen, Raven slowly following.

"You what? You have to have a T.V! I mean you live in a mansion but you don't have a T.V!" Chrystall shouted. She was so shocked by Vincent's reply that Eric and Emerald thought she might actually faint. "Fine then, I'll go somewhere else!" Chrystall pouted as she stood up and walked to the front door.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Emerald asked running over to her.

"I'm going to see Cloud and Tifa" She replied opening the door. A cold breeze blew into the building causing both girls to shudder. "Don't worry I'll be back before you know it!" She stepped out into the snow and left for the bar. Emerald closed the door and walked back inside.

"Is she like that all the time?" Eric asked.

"Yeah pretty much" Emerald replied showing Eric a cheerful smile. Eric thought his heart was going to pop right out of his chest it was beating so fast. "Are you ok Eric?" Eric hadn't realised that he was just staring into space.

"Uh..Yeah im ok" Eric replied. "Uh, im gonna go see if Vincent's minds me staying here tonight" With that Eric left Emerald in the room on her own.

Meanwhile in the kitchen……..

"Vincent, Im going to go for a walk" Raven stated.

"In the dark?" Vincent asked.

"Yes, I don't know when I'll be back so don't wait up for me" Raven replied.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Vincent questioned again, he knew that Hojo was looking for her and he didn't want her to just walk into a trap.

"Vincent, I thank you for your concern but I'll be fine" Raven stated, she waited for Vincent to reply with a nod of approval and he did. She walked to the front door and left. Vincent thought a couple of times about following her but decided against it, he didn't know where she was going but he trusted her. At that moment Eric came into the room, he closed the door and exhaled a very deep breath, it sounded like he had been holding it for quite a while. Vincent turned to him and waited for an explanation.

"Sorry to barge in here like that Vincent, but I was wondering if you had room for one more?" Eric asked looking a bit embarrassed. "It's only for tonight, it's not permanent"

"That's a strange way to ask a favour of someone but none the less you may stay here" Vincent replied.

"Thanks Vincent" Eric said relieved that he didn't have to walk back to the bar in the freezing cold night.

Elsewhere, somewhere in the snowy Nibel Mountains……

A path of deep footprints led to a dark figure, long dark black hair blew in all directions in the wind. The mysterious person had deep purple eyes that hid an uncontrollable hunger that could burst out at any second. The mysterious figure continued to walk through the ankle deep snow until it heard a sound, it spun round with incredible speed. There not far behind it was a creature the same size of a golden retriever, the creatures white fur gave off glints of silver and gold. They both shared a cautious stare, not one of them dared to move. The fox creature decided to move first by quickly running in the opposite direction down the mountain before it got hurt. The mysterious figure decided it couldn't be bothered to chase the creature and carried on its journey.

Meanwhile in Tifa's bar……

Chrystall was sat at a barstool consuming drink after drink. Tifa stood in amazement behind the bar at how much Chrystall was able to drink.

"Chrystall are you sure you should be drinking that much?" Tifa asked.

"Who do you think you are? My Mother?" Chrystall replied sarcastically. "I can drink as much as I want thank you very much"

"Ok, I was just making sure you were alright" Tifa stated. The doors opened and three people walked in, two male and one female. The smallest male had messy red hair tied back into a pony tail, while the other was completely bald. The woman's hair was blonde and in the shape of a bob, she was the one who spoke first.

"Another bar? For God sake how many more must we go too?" She asked.

"Hey Elena chill would ya, we're here to enjoy ourselves" The red head replied.

"This is not how I class enjoying myself" The woman now identified as Elena stated. "But then you have a simple mind Reno and as they say 'simple things amuse simple minds'"

"Elena, me and Rude are offended by that remark!" The red head now identified as Reno yelled.

"I wasn't talking about Rude, I was talking about you!" Elena yelled back. Everyone in the bar at present was now watching the two fight, including Chrystall. Her face lit up when she laid eyes on Reno, she jumped up from her stool and ran over to them. Tackling Reno into a bear hug, squeezing the life out of him.

"RENO!" She shouted excitedly.

"C………can't b……breathe!" He replied.

"Oh sorry" Chrystall instantly released him. Reno inhaled a deep breath and exhaled it, glad that he was able to breathe once more.

"Hey babe, I didn't know you would be here" He said. Suddenly without warning Chrystall raised her hand and slapped him right across the face, leaving a red mark to match his hair. "OW! What was that for!"

"That was for not calling me in three weeks!" Chrystall pouted. "You got me worried"

"Im sorry Chris but I…….uh……um" Reno replied rubbing the red mark on his face.

"You what huh?" Chrystall asked angrily.

"…..I forgot……" Reno said simply. He saw Chrystall raise her hand again, he braced himself for another slap that he deserved. But it never came, he looked at Chrystall to see her smiling sweetly. "You're not going to slap me again?"

"Nah, I couldn't stay mad at you for long Reno" She laughed. "You're too handsome"

"Why thanks babe" Reno replied pulling Chrystall into a hug.

**A/N: Well there you go, sorry I haven't updated in like forever. Sorry not much happened in this chappie but the Turks have made their arrival and it seems Reno and Chrystall are going out……..how interesting. I hope you guys like it so tell me what you thought by reviewing, ok. I will update quicker promise, in fact im starting the next chapter right now. Anyway thanks for reading, see ya next chapter oh I don't own the fox, Tolea will know who that is……hee hee. Bye bye!**

**Cheese out………..**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Raven and Emerald.**

**A/N: Wow. Is this me updating again! I am truly amazed at myself, updating so soon it's just not me is it? But hey it's good right? Thank you all those who reviewed my last chapter and sorry it was short; I hope to make this one longer. So here we go!**

**Chapter 7**

In the Shinra mansion…..

Eric and Emerald had gone to bed about an hour ago; they had expected Vincent to follow after them. Eric was led on his bed staring at the creamy swirls on the ceiling, they seemed to move and create pictures that only he could see. He continued to lay there for a while until he decided that he was thirsty, so he got up and walked out of his room and into the long dark corridor. He tried to be as quiet as he could but you can always guarantee that you'll make more noise when you try not too, as he walked the floorboards creaked under his weight. He finally made it to the stairs after passing many dark oak doors, Eric had no idea where these doors led to and didn't want to look and invade Vincent's privacy. Eric walked downstairs and into the large open plan kitchen, he didn't want to risk waking people up by turning the lights on so he didn't. He slowly made his way to a cupboard and found a glass; he went to the large silver sink and filled his glass with the clear liquid. Eric downed the cold drink in one go and decided he should clear it up before anyone was to awaken.

"You're up late Eric" A deep voice stated. Eric spun round in shock to find Vincent leaning against one of the creamy white walls of the kitchen. Vincent wasn't even looking at him and if he hadn't of spoken Eric would've thought he was asleep. Eric exhaled a sigh of relief.

"Vincent, you scared me" He stated. "I thought you were asleep, why aren't you?"

"She hasn't come back yet" Vincent replied bluntly, now he had his eyes open and they were focused on Eric. "I will not sleep until she has returned"

"Who? Raven?" Eric asked as he sat down on a chair.

"Yes, she's been out for over three hours" He replied. "If that monster finds her, it will be another sin for my soul to bear"

"Why would it be a sin for you?" Eric questioned. "It was her choice to go out there alone wasn't it?"

"Yes she did wish to go out there alone" Vincent answered. "But I know that he's out there and if he were to find her, it would be my sin for letting her go alone"

"I'm sure she'll be ok, I mean I saw the way she fought yesterday and I can imagine that she is very hard to defeat in combat" Eric remarked. "So I'm sure she can take that Hojo guy without even trying"

"He's not as weak as he looks, Eric" Vincent stated. "He may look feeble and old but he has a very cunning mind, it take's a lot more than strength to defeat someone like him, I should know being an Ex-Turk"

"Oh right. Look Vincent, I've been meaning to ask you something" Eric replied nervously.

"What do you wish to know?" Vincent asked.

"Well, I've read some files about you Vincent and I was wondering what exactly he did to you?" Eric said slightly nervous, he wasn't sure how Vincent would take a question about his past. "The files I read weren't very detailed and didn't give much information on what he did" There was a long silence, it got to a point that Eric didn't expect an answer he was about to say that it didn't matter when Vincent spoke.

"Eric, I do not wish to burden your soul with such horror" He replied bluntly as he walked towards the door. "We'll leave that for another night when I think you're ready to hear such a story" With that he walked out of the door and up the stairs to his room, Eric just stared at where he had once been wondering what Vincent meant when he said 'When you're ready'. Surely he was ready now, I mean when could he possible be ready to hear his story if he wasn't ready now. In the end he gave up his thinking and went back to bed, where he slept for the rest of the night.

The next morning everyone met at the bar, apart from Raven who hadn't returned yet. They all sat at bar stools and talked to each other, when on the T.V, on the bar, the news came on.

"Major news, three campers were found dead in the Nibel Mountains, they were attacked while they were sleeping in their sleeping bags late last night" The woman on the T.V said. "We interviewed a local investigator on what he thought attacked them" The screen then changes to a man in a brown suit.

"After examining the three bodies, I have noticed that they died the same way, the only injuries they had were two small wounds in the neck area. There doesn't seem to be any other injuries and no sign of what killed them." The man said. "There were no tracks of any kind to tell us whom or what had done this, so one would think what killed them could fly" The screen changed pack to the woman in the studio.

"On other news, are the rumours true that the Shinra Company is coming back?" Reno turned the T.V off.

"No they aren't true, stupid news people can never get anything right!" He complained walking back to his seat.

"………….Raven…….." Vincent muttered, he had no idea anyone could hear him but Emerald having her rather large ears was able to pick it up.

"Vincent, are you saying Raven killed those people?" She asked, the question caught every ones attention, they all turned to Vincent expecting an answer. Vincent said nothing just marched out of the door in his usual silent manner, Emerald ran after him worriedly. "Vincent! Where are you going?" She called running after him, she ran in front of him and forced him to stop.

"I need to find her" He replied, trying to go around Emerald but she wouldn't allow him to. "Please move Emerald"

"Vincent, I'm not letting you go on your own" She stated. "I'm not going to move until you let me come with you"

"I suggest you go back inside before you freeze out here" He remarked as he gently moved her aside and started walking towards the Nibel Mountains. Emerald ran back inside the bar.

"Chrystall! We're going! Now!" Emerald commanded.

"What? It's too cold out there, Em. We would freeze!" Chrystall stated.

"I don't care! I'm not letting Vincent go on his own where he could get hurt!" Emerald shouted. "He helped save my life yesterday and I'm not going to let him throw his own away!"

"I understand why you are concerned but Vincent is very capable of protecting himself" Cloud stated. Emerald didn't look too convinced, she could tell he was skilled but she didn't want him going on his own, for if he were to get in trouble there wouldn't be anyone to help him.

"Fine! I'll go on my own!" She yelled before she ran off to catch Vincent. So Vincent and Emerald made their way up the mountain, the snow on the ground soon became deeper and Emerald was having a hard time getting through it. Emerald stopped and listened to her surroundings, Vincent also did this. "I can hear something"

"So do I" Vincent replied. They both turned their attention to a small cave a few metres away.

"Do you think she could be in there?" Emerald asked.

"I am not sure" Vincent replied.

"Well then, let's look!" Emerald said cheerfully as she ran on ahead the best she could in the snow. They both entered the cave cautiously, both of them moving without a sound. Then before their eyes they saw a creature of such beauty, a fox like creature of white silver and gold sat near what looked like a body. They edged closer causing the fox to turn around, it started growling at them baring its teeth, Vincent readied his gun to kill the creature but Emerald gave him the signal to lower his weapon. She edged closer to the fox, crouching down so she didn't look as threatening as before, she reached out her hand to touch the frightened creature but it backed away. "It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you and neither is Vincent" The fox came closer and allowed Emerald to stroke it, Vincent saw that Emerald's face now bore a huge smile. Vincent adverted his attention to the body laying on the floor, he stared at it for a while before he noticed who it was.

"Raven" He said crouching by her side. She was unconscious and unable to hear him so she could not reply.

"I thank you Tolea and Mr. Valentine for leading me to my specimen" A menacing voice boomed through the cave, Emerald and Vincent both spun round to see whom the voice belonged to, the fox began growling once more.

**A/N: Well I hope that was ok, and I'm sorry to stop there but I'm tired and have to go to bed soon. Thanks again to all those who reviewed, it made me so happy! You can probably guess who is behind them but I wanted to leave you on a cliffy, if this even counts as a cliffy? Anyway I hope to update this again soon, when I get time to type some more that is. Please review. Thanks! See ya!**

**Cheese out………. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I only own Raven, Emerald and Dante. Everything else belongs to Square Enix or you guys.**

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait but my computer broke down and everything on it was deleted, including the nearly finished chapter. So I had to try and remember what I had written and type it again. This chapter was a little difficult for me, as some people may know, I find it hard to write action scenes and in this chapter there is one. I've also been very busy and didn't have time to type much. So I hope this is ok, and I hope you enjoy! Oh yeah thank you all those who reviewed it is greatly appreciated. Anyway here it is, chapter 8. Dun Dun!**

**Chapter 8**

"Why are you so surprised to see me?" The voice asked. "Surely you knew I would come to collect what is mine and Raven does belong to me after all"

"Raven belongs to no one, Hojo" Vincent replied, saying the name with utter disgust.

"Ha ha ha! Mr. Valentine you don't change do you? Still trying to protect but always failing, how awful that must feel" Hojo replied. He turned his menacing stare onto the fox like creature. "Tolea, there's no need to hide, show them your true form"

"True form? What are you talking about?" Emerald asked in confusion.

"Watch and you'll see" Hojo replied still staring at Tolea.

The sound of bones cracking came from Tolea as she stood on her hind legs. Her white fur disappeared and very tanned skin formed in its place. Her eyes glowed a bright golden colour, their brightness matching the sun as it sets in the evening. Now a human figure was starting to form, upon her head purple hair now grew, soon goggles appeared strapped to her head. Upon her slim body green overalls and a lavender t-shirt underneath, covering much of her tanned skin. Lastly a heart shaped charm made of deep blue crystal hung around her neck. Her glowing golden eyes glared at Hojo. From no where a big wrench appeared in her right hand, one could tell that she was confident with this weapon of choice from the way in which she held it. "Now isn't that better?" Hojo asked in a mocking tone. Emerald stared in wonder at Tolea, Vincent was more occupied by Hojo and refused to take his eyes off him.

"Hojo, how dare you show your face here" Tolea said sternly. Emerald was the odd one out here, as she was the only one who didn't have her gaze fixed on someone. "I don't know what it is that you want but I think you should leave while you have the chance" At this remark Hojo burst into a fit of laughter.

"What do you find so funny?" Emerald asked, she was quite confused at the moment and didn't know what to think, you could say she was being a blonde. Hojo calmed himself so he could answer Emerald's question.

"What I find so funny you ask, I find the fact that you think I would leave my specimen here when I haven't finished my work on her yet. That is what I find funny" Hojo replied, upon his face was a ghostly smirk that made him look like the living dead.

"What makes you so sure we will let you take her?" Vincent asked, his eyes still fixed upon the ghostly man. He turned to the entrance of the cave, then he let out a menacing laugh once more.

"So, you want to play rough, do you? Well I can do that" Hojo muttered, he was quiet but still loud enough for everyone to hear. Tolea let out a growl of disgust as she suddenly charged at Hojo, she was about a metre away from her target when she was blocked by a sword, for a split second her golden eyes met with silver eyes. Tolea was thrown back, dust flying through the air as she stabled herself. All three pairs of eyes were now on this new enemy, between them and Hojo was a masculine figure. His skin was quite pale, almost ghostly, his hair and eyes both matched as they were a light shade of silver. However his hair showed signs that it was once a light blonde and somehow changed to silver. His ears were pointed and about the same size as Emerald's, was he an elf?. His clothes were black and quite tight to show off his muscular body. His expression was blank and didn't show any sign of weakness to the cold conditions. "Ah, I'd like you all to meet my specimen, Dante" Hojo said smugly. He now returned his gaze back to the group. "Now, do you feel like having some fun, hmm? Do you my dear specimen? Would you like to destroy them, rip them limb from limb?"

"If you so wish it master, I will do so" Dante replied, his voice holding no emotion. Hojo let out a chuckle at his specimen.

"That's what I like to hear. Retrieve Raven unharmed, kill the others" Hojo ordered, his voice becoming stern.

"Yes, of course master" Dante replied, his voice still in the same tone. Vincent and Tolea glared at Dante, though it didn't affect him. Emerald however just stared in shock t Dante. _Dante? It can't be…why would he fight for that professor? Dante would never fight for a human, he just wouldn't! But he looks so much like him, its just his eyes and hair that don't match _Emerald thought.

While Vincent and Tolea both got ready for the upcoming fight, Emerald remained in shock. Both Vincent and Tolea got their weapons ready and proceeded to get into their fighting stances, Emerald remained still. Of course Dante was already in his fighting position, so he made the first move. He charged swiftly at Tolea first, pulling his arm back to unleash a powerful strike, however Tolea successfully dodged and hit Dante in the back with her wrench. Though he didn't show any signs of pain from the blow, he moved on for the next strike like nothing had happened. Vincent was quick to move in with his trusty gun, swiftly and accurately he shot Dante in the upper leg. Again he didn't show any sign of pain or weakness, though blood slowly oozed out of his wounded leg. Dante went for a strike again, though this time he went for Emerald, who right now was in so much shock she couldn't even move. His sword was about thirty centimetres away from Emerald's face, when a gunshot echoed throughout the cave. Emerald hadn't realised that she had shut her eyes, slowly she opened them, afraid of what she might see. She was greeted with the face of Dante, his angelic face was contorting in pain, he let go of his sword and with a clang the metal hit the floor. Next was Dante himself to fall to the ground, horror was written all over Emerald's face.

"Dante!" Emerald cried as she fell to her knees, she crawled to Dante's side. "Dante, I looked for you for so long but I couldn't find you, I'm so sorry!" Her blue eyes began to fill with tears. Now surrounding his head was a pool of red blood, the bullet, fired from Vincent's gun had imbedded itself in the back of Dante's head. How was he still alive? They all guessed it was something that Hojo had done to him.

"…Em?…Is that really you, my sister?" Dante asked in a hoarse voice. Now Dante's voice did show emotion, it showed sadness, pain and happiness all at once. Also, his eyes were no longer silver but a light shade of blue.

"Uh huh, it is me, Dante" Emerald replied through sobs as tears began to run down her face. A small smile appeared on Dante's pained expression. "Dante, I won't let you die, I promise" Vincent and Tolea were only partly listening, as they were keeping their attention on Hojo, who now had an angry expression on his face.

"..Em..it's too late for me, you were the only thing that kept me alive, the thought of seeing you again. I'm sorry I attacked you and your friends, I couldn't stop. I hope you can forgive me, Em" Dante said, his voice becoming no more than a whisper. Now his eyes were starting to close, ever so slowly they would get closer and closer to never opening again.

"Dante! Don't say things like that! I do forgive you, I truly do! You're not going to die! I won't let you!" Emerald cried, as she continued to weep over him. She hadn't seen her brother in ten years, and here all of a sudden, he was lying in front of her, passing into the next world. Emerald couldn't believe this was happening, she just refused to.

"Don't cry over me..Em, I want you to be happy. I want you to smile that beautiful smile that you always used to have on your face" Dante stated. With what little strength he had left, he slowly lifted his hand to wipe the tears from her face. "I love you….Em….." With that his last breath escaped his lungs, his hand fell from Emerald's face and to the floor where he now lay still not moving an inch.

"Dante! No Dante!" Emerald yelled hysterically, even though blood still oozed out of the wound on the back of his head, she pulled him close to her body where she held him and wept. "Come back Dante! Please! I don't want to be on my own!…Please Dante, I love you too!"

"Pitiful" Hojo said with a stern tone. Tolea let out another growl of disgust and anger as she charged at Hojo, her wrench pulled back ready to strike her target. Strike it's target it did indeed, Tolea slammed her wrench into Hojo's head, all that was heard was the crack of his skull and the thud as his body hit the floor.

"I told you to run while you could, Hojo" Tolea said in a low voice looking down on his body. "I will never forgive you for taking another innocent life" Tolea walked back to Vincent. "That girl" She gives a nod in Raven's direction. "She needs warmth, she is freezing. You should take her back while she still has a chance of opening her eyes" Vincent gave a nod in response. Silently he walked over to Raven, where he crouched down and picked her up.

"Emerald, we need to leave, now" Vincent stated, his voice his normal cold tone. Emerald looked up at him, her top now covered in Dante's blood. Emerald looked at Vincent's eyes and knew she would have to leave, slowly she nodded. Before leaving she gave Dante a tight hug, then she released him and stood, her face red with tears. She took a few steps towards Vincent, then she looked back before she finally walked to Vincent's side. Vincent turned his attention to Tolea, "You may come back with us if you so wish it" With those cold words spoken he began the long hike back to town. Emerald and Tolea were quick to follow.

**A/N: OMG! I am so sorry! Thank you so much Tolea for giving me the inspiration to update! I promise I will work on the next chapter tomorrow, well I have to think of what to write first obviously. Well anyway, what you guys think? Sad, no? It gives you a little more information on Emerald. Once again, I am so sorry for the long wait and I'm sorry if this is short. I will update soon promise! Until then though, bye!  
Cheese out…………….**


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